The Camino de Santiago has captured the imagination of many – in 2019 record numbers of pilgrims hit the trails leading to the cathedral. The desire for something more than a vacation, for travel that is meaningful, explains, in part, the renewed interest for this ancient journey. There is also, in our modern fractured, overextended, technologically crowded, social media dominated lives, a desire for something simpler, unencumbered and human, attested by the many voices that speak from the Camino and other pilgrimages.
No two Caminos are exactly alike, or are walked the same way. Pilgrims can travel by bus, bike, or on foot. Many choose to walk the requisite 100 kilometers from Sarria to the Cathedral to obtain the treasured Compostela – a journey of 5 to 7 days. Others traverse one of the other popular routes, such as the Camino Frances (about 780 km, 30-35 days) or the Norte, a longer and more difficult route (867 km). Some in Europe start their journey from their homes, walking for months.
Some stay in the dorm-like albergues and carry everything they need in a lightweight backpack, others have their luggage transported for them from one accommodation to the next, savoring the local cuisine as they go.
This book is meant for pilgrims and potential pilgrims (and maybe even past pilgrims) who are deliberate about connecting their faith to preparing for and walking the Camino, and for the life that follows. These collections of Camino stories, Scripture readings and reflections are intended to help you at every phase of your pilgrimage to receive the graces you need to complete your journey.
While these meditations will have special significance for those preparing – or even simply aspiring – to walk the Camino, it is my hope that it will also inspire anyone who yearns to cultivate the heart of a pilgrim. This use of “pilgrim” is used in the more ancient Christian sense, of one who searches for a deep spiritual connection with God by embracing the challenges of the road with a spirit of humility, self-denial, and detachment.
This site is for pilgrims of every stripe. It is for those who take refuge in a local shrine or spiritual center for a weekend of spiritual refreshment. I hope it is useful for “armchair pilgrims” who enjoy reading about far-flung places of spiritual significance, such as the Kumano Kodo, and the Shikoku Henro in Japan, or the Via Francigena and the Via di Francesco in the heartlands of Europe. For that matter, I hope it will aid the pilgrim walking the John Muir or Appalachian Trails, which would be fine places for prayerful, intentional transformation.
The daily reflections aim at prompting thought, prayer, and perhaps some action. You can use the meditations in many different ways. If you are reading this while walking the Camino, for example, you might choose to read each morning, before the day’s walk, to anchor the day. However, if squeezing in this activity will clutter a busy morning, while you’re trying to be on your way, consider reading as a mid-morning break, perhaps by a shrine or a church found along the way, to enrich the experience. If you are doing an “armchair” or virtual pilgrimage, you have the luxury of spacing out your readings a bit more — or maybe you would prefer a quiet time before or after dinner, to prepare for the next day. Be deliberate in this and make your own decision. Feel free to change your mind later.